How to Get Started with Bitcoins in Kenya

Cryptocurrency is among the biggest trends in the world of finance today. This is aided by the fact that as more individuals are entering into it, its value keeps increasing exponentially. Nevertheless, many Kenyans are missing out on this due to lack of knowledge. You may have probably have heard the term bitcoin but failed to pay attention as to what it is. Let me tell you now that was probably a huge mistake as you missed out on your ticket to becoming rich.

Bitcoin Definition

Put simply; Bitcoin is an online currency form that is fool-proof, secure and open. It has abolished the need for banks acting as intermediaries and functions just like the normal cash in the physical world where if I give you money, I don’t have to pay some form of tax or service fee. The blockchain is the technology behind the bitcoin creation having done much research in its invention because, by design, the internet is known to share data. In most cases, when you receive an email, the sender remains with the original, and you get the copy. Similarly, when you download an application, you access its copy and not the original. This means that most information on the internet is a copy of the original.

However, for the cryptocurrency technology, this is different as its value is determined by a guarantee when its handed to you as the other party cannot remain with his copy of it. Just imagine if I could send $100 on PayPal but remain with the original, this will bring in a lot of confusion as the same amount could be sent to an unlimited number of persons. For this reason, Blockchain technology makes it possible for one to send another one bitcoin and not retain a copy; hence, the bitcoin advantage.

Why Invest in a Bitcoin

The advantage with bitcoin is that our money gets to increase in a short span of time. For instance, if you deposit sh 100,000 in your bank account in January and let it untouched for one year, you will earn a small amount of interest, and in December it is possible that the amount will still be the same. Let’s assume that you used the case to invest in government bonds like M-Akiba. The outcome will be slightly better as these bonds earn 10% interest in one year; therefore, in December your cash will be Sh 110,000 before taxation.

Now, let’s assume you bought bitcoin with the amount. Value of bitcoin today (Wednesday, February 7) stands at 8150 dollars a coin. Yesterday the price of bitcoin was $7701. This depicts a change of +449 or +5.83%. Bitcoin value increases daily, and when you invest in it, you can make a few million in just some months. Tripling or doubling your cash in months is no small thing; hence, yes, bitcoin investment is worthwhile.

Bitcoin Mining

Bitcoin is mined. As confusing as this statement is, in theory, one requires a computer and some mining software. Nevertheless, since bitcoin is supposed to mimic the physical world, it behaves just like a mineral which upon its discovery, in the first few months, it will be found all over the place and can be collected even on the ground surface. As time goes on, the mineral becomes exhausted, and one has to dig deeper and deeper to find it. Therefore as it is, it is hard to mine bitcoin as you will need a time machine to take you back to 20099 when it was discovered. With more bitcoin traders, it is difficult to mine bitcoin as you will need special computers to do this as the standard computers cannot hack this task due to their design capacity. Because it is nearly impossible to mine bitcoin, the option available to many is to buy it.

Bitcoin how to buy

You will need a Blockchain wallet before you can buy bitcoin. A bitcoin wallet is an app permitting the user to store, send and receive digital assets. There are numerous options to choose from available both on android and apple store. These include Blockchain, mycelium, Exodus, and coinomi.

However, buying of bitcoin in Kenya is challenging as there are only two ways that cater to Kenyans. These include Blockchain Association of Kenya and digital assets online. Most of the other options sell bitcoin above its market value, and others that accept Kenyans require much document verification. You will need a MasterCard/Visa card (any ATM that’s visa will work) and a Neteller or Skill account to start. To perform bitcoin trading locally in Kenya, you can use the following link https://localbitcoins.com/ as it links bitcoin buyers and sellers.

Bitcoin Buy Process

You need to load Neteller or Skill account with the cash you need from your visa or Master Card.

Open an account with spectrocoin as it has reasonable verification requirements. Have your national identity card with you as you may need to upload it to spectrocoin

While on your spectrocoin account, deposit cash via Neteller or Skrill (using Visa or Master Card might lead to complications)

After this step, your wallet will show how much Bitcoin you have purchased.

You should move your bitcoin from this website to your computer to avoid possible hacking experienced in these sites.

This is where the wallet comes in handy, one of the best wallets is Exodus as it has an easy to use interface and displays net worth in real time. Once you have downloaded the Exodus app, hit the deposit Bitcoin icon and your address will be shown.

Return to spectrocoin and press the send Bitcoin. Paste the Exodus address and enter the value of Bitcoin you wish to send.

The Bitcoin will be instantaneously sent, and you can view it on Exodus to know how much they are worth in US dollars.

Safeguard your wallet by having a strong password as well as by backing up your computer in case it’s lost.

Exodus app allows you to exchange bitcoin for others six types of coins including Ethereum.

With Bitcoin in Your Wallet, What Next?

Once you have bitcoin in your wallet, you can perform various bitcoin businesses. Firstly, you can decide to use the coin to make online and cross-border payments across the globe. These include online gambling sites that accept bitcoin or purchase of cars from Japan since its parliament legalized bulk payments with bitcoin. Interesting right? Secondly, you can opt to be a digital commodity broker or trader at the comfort of your house. Most importantly, you don’t need any warehouse your commodities as all you require is a smartphone, a reputation, and list of clients. Lastly, you can decide just to wait until the bitcoin price rises and to use your instincts to sell at the most appropriate time.